Chapter 935 The situation is stronger than the people

It is not a secret that when the Haihan people export certain products with relatively high technical content and special application fields, such as weapons, ships, etc., they will only sell foreign trade versions with inferior performance. Even if it is to help allies like Annan.

The warships built in the shipyard established by Haihan under the guidance of Haihan look similar to the original ones, but their overall performance is at least 20 to 30% worse.

Van Diemen knew very well that even if Haihan sold civilian versions of steam engines or sea-going ships driven by steam engines in the future, their performance would definitely be significantly different from their own versions. As for imitating Haihan's steam engines, Van Diemen believed that it would be feasible to imitate Haihan's steam engines.

It is very difficult, not to mention the technical difficulties in its design principles and processing and manufacturing. It will take several years just to lay out various supporting industries and train relevant technical personnel for this purpose. Otherwise, Haihan people will be confused when they first arrive in Sanya.

Now that we have built this steam engine, we still need to wait for several years before it can be unveiled.

What the East India Company lacks most now is time. The Haihan people came to the door at this time, clearly not intending to leave them any time to heal. Let alone steam engines, if they did not agree to their request, the East India Company might not even be able to

If we can wait until the restoration project of Batavia City is completed, there will be no time to study the secret device of imitating the Haihan people.

"Mr. Governor, I think that although Haihan has the ability to send the fleet to Java, it does not mean that they can capture it." Van der Wegen was not reconciled to being severely squeezed by Philip just now, and still insisted that we should resist.

Haihan: "Their nearest supply point, Amborna Island, is 600 nautical miles away from Batavia, and the nearest naval base, Cam Ranh Port, is 1,000 nautical miles away. As long as we can hold on for a month... no, it may only take half a month.

They will retreat on their own because they run out of supplies!"

"Mr. van der Wegen, you still don't understand the essence of the matter." There was an expression of disappointment on Van Diemen's face that could not be concealed. Van der Wegen was a young officer who was very optimistic about the former Governor Cohen, but he repeatedly failed in his dealings with the Haihan people.

After being frustrated, it seems that my insight into the situation is getting worse and worse.

"Haihan does not want to launch a war against us. They just intend to suppress our activity space as much as possible and coerce us to cooperate with them... No, it should be said that they coerce us to obey their commands. They are not trying to

Instead of driving us out of the Far East, we need the East India Company to play the role of an obedient errand-runner in the Hai-Han system, just like the Portuguese are doing now." Van Diemen also gradually cleared up the fog during this discussion.

After learning the truth, he realized the true intention of the Haihan people to bring their fleet to the city.

"Although the Haihan fleet did not come with the intention of starting a war this time, it was definitely prepared for a war, because they had to use a show of force to have enough deterrent effect on us. Although I

I still don’t quite understand what’s going on, but at least the Haihan people still need us.” Van Diemen clarified his thoughts bit by bit: “They have a very strong purpose in doing things, and all their methods are to get us to join their leadership.

A trading system, and the purpose of this trading system is to allow Haihan to achieve a monopoly on maritime trade in Northeast Asia."

Van Diemen has basically guessed seven to eight points of the truth. The rest is due to the fact that his vision and knowledge are limited to this era. It is impossible to see the overall situation from the same height as Haihan. Naturally, he cannot think of Haihan.

The reason why Han left the East India Company temporarily was to ensure the stability of the East-West maritime trade channel. But if Yan Chujie heard his analysis, he would probably give him a thumbs up and praise him.

Accepting the conditions of the Haihan people, joining the trade alliance, and shrinking the scope of activities to areas south of the equator will definitely greatly affect the East India Company's profits, and future trade in Northeast Asia will be subject to the Haihan people. But the advantage is that it can

Let the Haihan people cease their activities for the time being, and do not come to Batavia again in the short term to seek bad luck. As for how long this life extension can last, only the Haihan people can probably control it, and the decision-making power does not lie in the hands of the East India Company itself.

"So now we have to make a decision, whether to fight to the death with the Haihan people right away, or to obey their arrangements first, and then find an opportunity to take revenge on them after two or three years." Van Diemen's eyes flickered from the faces of everyone present one by one.

Sweep: "Gentlemen, if you decide to choose war, then I will not cower, but I hope that when the war starts again, everyone can go to the front line to fight for the East India Company, instead of cowering in the city or simply

Run away and go back home!”

When the Malta Blue Army attacked Batavia last year, some members of the council first interfered with the military's combat plan, and then after Van Diemen forcefully took over the command, they all huddled in the fortress in the center of the city, from beginning to end.

He didn't even go to patrol the defense line. Van Diemen naturally couldn't bear to see this kind of cowardly behavior. If anyone in the council wanted to clamor for war, he was going to send him to the front line to fight, so that these people could only fight on the front line.

Politicians who are good at talking nonsense must first experience the cruelty and horror of war.

Of course, everyone is now aware of the situation. The choice Haihan gave is nothing more than the difference between the East India Company dying early and dying later. After they stabilize their control area in the north, they will definitely go south again and seek to gradually control Nanyang.

They will even push westward through Malacca - after all, the Strait of Malacca is now in the hands of the Portuguese, and they probably will not refuse Haihan's request.

It is a difficult question for everyone here whether to survive or to fight. Rejecting Haihan may intensify the speed of being squeezed out of the Far East market, and obeying Haihan can only watch the opponent a little bit.

Encroaching on its own territory, no matter which path it chooses, is not a good thing for the East India Company. But as an organization that started out as a business, the East India Company's ultimate consideration is commercial interests rather than face or politics.

factors, so after two days of discussion, the council made a difficult decision, authorizing Van Diemen and Haihan to sign a memorandum of understanding first, striving to gain more benefits for the East India Company before signing a formal agreement.

.

When Fan Diemen saw Yan Chujie again, perhaps because he had made a decision, his mood was much more relaxed than the last time they met.

"The company's council has studied your proposal. We believe that there are many areas worthy of further discussion, especially in terms of protecting the company's interests in the coastal areas of northern countries. We need you to make concessions and a clearer commitment.

." Van Diemen said carefully: "Especially the cancellation of the local commercial agencies, we will not agree."

Yan Chujie thought that since you specifically pointed out this issue, then all other conditions would be fine. The Dutchman was quite knowledgeable. Originally, he had wondered whether the fleet would need to be pulled back if the other party rejected Haihan's proposal.

They came out to practice a land attack in Batavia Port, but now it seems that they have saved themselves this trouble. The other party obviously does not intend to use force to confront them, but wants to gain more benefits for themselves through negotiation.

Yan Chujie still has a good idea of ​​which parts of the entire plan can be compromised and which parts must be insisted on. Requests such as the abolition of commercial institutions are originally a means of shouting out prices. Now that the Dutch want to pay back the money, they should just follow them.

I wanted to act together.

"This issue is not non-negotiable, but the personnel stationed locally must be reviewed by us, and the number must be controlled within the limits stipulated by us." Yan Chujie saw that Van Diemen's face was ugly, so he just turned a blind eye and said: "Do this

It is also for the safety of your company’s employees and the citizens of your country. There are too many people and it will be difficult for us to protect them.”

Van Diemen thought to himself that you are obviously worried about us arranging colonization in the local area, and you actually gave such a high-sounding reason.

Haihan is very clear about the development methods of Western colonial countries in the Far East. The establishment of colonial settlements in various places is their main expansion method, and this method has been fully learned by Haihan.

The blue is better than the blue. In the six to seven years after traveling, Haihan developed the colonial area at a speed far exceeding that of his Western counterparts. Of course, after Haihan himself mastered this expansion method,

Naturally, you have to be wary of competitors using this trick to cause trouble for you.

As a result, the two sides engaged in a heated debate around the issue of setting up the East India Company's trading warehouses. Van Diemen hoped to set up trading warehouses or offices in every port under Haihan's control, but Yan Chujie would not accept it.

On this condition, he only agreed to set up offices of the East India Company in six places: Da Nang, Sanya, Hong Kong, Penghu, Zhoushan and Ambrosia Island. For the offices established by the Dutch, the Ministry of Security would inevitably need to arrange a large number of manpower to carry out the operations.

Surveillance, Yan Chujie didn't want to be complained by He Xi and Hao Wanqing about not being able to do things when he went back.

Van Diemen was obsessed with details like this. By the next day, Yan Chujie had already begun to have a headache and regretted that he had not brought Schneider along with him this time. Although he was also very good at talking, in the end,

The majors are not very suitable, and it is very difficult to argue with the Dutch about these business details. If Schneider is here, it should be easier to deal with the troubles caused by Van Diemen.

However, Yan Chujie did not leave the combined fleet idle. Taking advantage of the current negotiation time, he asked Roger to take half of the warships, together with the ships participating in the operation from Champa and Annan, westward along the coastline of Java Island.

Sailing, in the name of sea training, went to the Sunda Strait to explore the route.

The Sunda Strait is located between Java Island and Sumatra Island. The strait is about 80 nautical miles long and the narrowest point is only more than 10 nautical miles. This narrow waterway connects the Java Sea and the Indian Ocean. It is also a detour from North Pacific countries to Africa.

The Cape of Good Hope is an important link on the route to Europe. Like the Strait of Malacca in the north, it is a strategic area that guards the east-west sea route.

When Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean more than two hundred years ago, he also led his fleet through this strait to the Indian Ocean. However, after the Dutch came to the Far East, they took control of this strait, making it a useful place for Dutch ships to sail to the Oriental spices.

The exclusive passage to the archipelago. Of course, this situation has changed after the Netherlands lost to the Materan Kingdom last year. Although it is only more than half a day's voyage from the Port of Batavia to the Sunda Strait, the East India Company no longer

Dare to easily dispatch ships to local patrols, so most of the armed sailing ships can only be deployed near the Batavia Port. On the one hand, this is to prevent strong enemies from attacking from the sea, and on the other hand, it is also worried about the weak patrol.

The ship was besieged by the Malaman sailing ship in the strait. Although the Dutch sailing ship was armed to some extent, it was ultimately difficult to defeat four people with two fists. It would be troublesome if it was blocked by the Malaman sailing ship in the strait.

On the deck of the fleet's flagship "Wei Signal", Zhang Yun was pointing to the islands in the distance and imparting relevant geographical knowledge to the two men: "The Sunda Strait is an active zone of crustal movement, with frequent volcanic activity. You see that

These cone-shaped mountains are landforms formed after volcanic eruptions. These volcanic eruptions can cause strong earthquakes and tsunamis, which can spread to places thousands of miles away."

Although Zhang Yun is a biologist, geography is originally a part of the natural sciences, and he has also dabbled in it. In fact, this is the first time he has observed this kind of volcanic terrain at close range, and he can't hide his excitement in his tone. However,

He knows that the volcanoes here are currently in a safe period. According to historical records, the large-scale volcanic eruption in the Sunda Strait occurred at the end of the 19th century. When the active volcano called Krakatau erupted, the volcanic ash was washed up 80 kilometers.

The high altitude caused it to float around the world for a long time. The sound of volcanic explosions could be heard as far as 3,500 kilometers away. The strong airflow even destroyed part of the forest in the Malay Peninsula more than a thousand kilometers away. This

This volcanic eruption triggered strong earthquakes and tsunamis. Huge waves with a height of more than 30 meters hit the coast near the strait, destroying countless cities, towns and villages, and killing tens of thousands of people.

The two brothers Zhang Zhi and Zhang Dong were so surprised when they heard the ecstasy. The biggest explosion they knew was nothing more than artillery bombardment or mining and cannon fire. They had never imagined that there would be such a situation as the teacher described.

.With the knowledge stored in their minds, it is difficult to imagine the actual scene when the volcano erupts.

"The land across the strait is Sumatra. It is the sixth largest island in the world, with an area of ​​470,000 square kilometers, equivalent to the size of more than a dozen Hainan Islands." Zhang Yun looked at the looming outline of the land in the distance and said:

"Let's see if there is a chance to go to Sumatra this time. I would like to see what a real Sumatran tiger looks like."
Chapter completed!